JPS61268476A - Thermal transfer type printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the repeated use of an ink ribbon by controlling a ribbon feeding arrangement by a take-up control signal on every completion of arbitrary printing so that the start end side of the ink ribbon be taken up by some amount. CONSTITUTION:When printing of a first line is completed, a feed control signal Sa turns to be L, and a take-up control signal output circuit 41 delivers a take-up control signal Sm of time width Tm and at H level from an output terminal Q. This signal is given to a normal rotation terminal W1 of a driving circuit 44 through an OR circuit 43, and based thereon, the use start end side of an ink ribbon is taken up by some amount of length by a motor 36. Next, a feed control signal Sb of H level delivered from the main control unit 40 turns to be H, and printing of a second line is conducted. With the above-stated operation repeated, printing of lines is executed sequentially, and the use start end side of the ink ribbon is taken up by a prescribed length on every two completions of printing. This constitution makes it possible to dispense with the reversal and resetting of a cassette for repeated use of the ink ribbon and thus to shorten a time for printing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer type that uses an ink ribbon cassette that is equipped with an ink ribbon that can be used repeatedly between first and second reels. Regarding printers.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] It is known that the ink ribbon of an ink ribbon cassette device conventionally used in a thermal transfer printer becomes unusable after one thermal transfer. Therefore, in conventional printers of this type, one of the two reels in the ink ribbon cassette is driven to wind up the ink ribbon, while the other is free to rotate. The relationship between the operation of the printer and the winding of the ink ribbon cassette in this case will be explained with reference to FIG. When the ink is moved in the direction of the arrow [, it is energized and generates heat, and is thermally transferred to the printing paper F via the ink ribbon 5 of the ink ribbon cassette 4, thereby printing one line. . In this case, cassette 4
The ink ribbon 5 is transported in the direction of arrow r so that it does not move relative to the printing paper P, and one (left) reel 6 of the two reels is installed inside the carriage 2. It is driven by a driven mechanism (not shown). When the printing for one line described above is completed, at that point the thermal head 1 is cut off and separated from the printing paper P, and the carriage 2 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow R direction and returned to the printing starting position. It will be done. After this,
While moving the ink ribbon 5 again in the direction of arrow R,
Prints a line.

In the conventional ink ribbon mentioned above, all the corresponding parts of the ink are thermally transferred in one thermal transfer, and it can only be used once. It is designed so that it can only be transferred in one direction.

Incidentally, in recent years, ink ribbons have been developed that can be used multiple times (10 to 20 times) with a thickness of one ink placed on a ribbon band. When the ink ribbon cullet is used in the above-mentioned conventional printer, after printing is performed sequentially in the direction of the arrow Rh, and therefore after the ink ribbon has been transferred in the direction of the arrow R, the ink ribbon must be completely rewound.
In this case, the ink ribbon cassette must be reversed and attached so that each reel is at the discontinued position (J must be changed,
This work is troublesome, and the thermal head 1 must be returned to the printing start position one by one after printing of the b1 line is completed, which causes a problem in that printing takes time. As an alternative measure, it is conceivable to repeat the process of thermally transferring the portion thermally transferred by printing in the direction of the arrow R when the multi-head 1 moves in the opposite direction (the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow R). However, in this case, it is important to count the number of times the ink ribbon is used. There was a problem in that countermeasures were required and the control circuit configuration was complicated.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide an ink ribbon cassette that can transport an ink ribbon that can be used repeatedly between two reels. This eliminates the need for reversing and changing the ink ribbon cassette for repeated use of the ink ribbon, shortens printing time, and simplifies the control circuit configuration, while also reducing costs. The purpose is to provide an inexpensive thermal transfer printer.

[Summary of the Invention] The present invention uses an ink ribbon cassette that is equipped with an ink ribbon that can be used repeatedly between a first reel and a second reel. A thermal head capable of reciprocating movement and generating heat during the forward and backward movements to print one line each in the forward and backward directions on the printing paper via the ink ribbon, and a ribbon transport motor. A ribbon transport device selectively rotates the first and second reels of the ink ribbon force sets 1 to 1 based on forward and reverse rotations of the ribbon transport motor of the ribbon transport device and the thermal head. A transfer control signal is output when printing, and a winding control signal is output every time arbitrary printing is completed. Based on the transfer control signal, the ribbon transfer device moves the ink ribbon relative to the printing paper in the column direction and backward direction, respectively. and a control device for controlling the ink ribbon so that it does not move, and controlling the transfer device in response to a winding control signal so as to wind the starting end of the ink ribbon by a certain amount. , it is possible to print in both directions, and it also allows the used side of the ink ribbon to be wound up one after another.

[Embodiments of the Invention] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. First, in FIG. 5 showing the internal structure of the printer, and FIGS. 3 and 4 showing the carriage part, 11 is a frame, 12 is a flannel L-shaped platen provided on this frame 1112, and 13 is a platen 12. H
), 14 is a carriage movably provided on this guide rail 13, and 15 is! To the bell 1 stretched along the bipedal guide rail 13, the fifth
Reference numeral 16 shown in the figure is a carriage drive motor, and the carriage drive motor 16 moves the carriage 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.
direction. 17 is a head support plate installed to move integrally with the above-mentioned:1 spear 14;
The thermal head 18 is attached to the part on the platen 12 side, and the thermal head 18 is attached to the platen 12 side.
It is provided so as to be movable back and forth in the direction of the arrow and in the direction of the arrow B. The head support plate 17 is supported by a spring 19 (the fourth
20 is a head support plate rotation control lever that is rotatably provided along the platen 12. 4, the head support plate 17 is rotated against the spring force of the spring 19, and the thermal head 18 is moved in front of the platen 12. It is pressed against the printing paper (not shown).In addition, in Fig. 5,
22 is a paper feed shaft, 23 is a manual paper feed knob, and 24 is a paper feed Tanabata. Here, the thermal head 18 is energized in both the direction of the arrow and the direction of the arrow 13 for a time width corresponding to one line of printing. Reference numeral 25 denotes an ink ribbon cassette that is detachably attached to the carriage 14, and as shown in FIG.
Between these reels 27 and 28, an ink ribbon 29 that can be used repeatedly is provided so as to be transportable in the directions of arrows a and 28. In the case of this figure 6, the second
An unused ink ribbon 29 is wound around the reel 28, and this ink ribbon 29 is finally wound up by the first reel 27. Above [Consideration, Part 1]
Reference numeral 30 shown in the drawings and FIG. It is rotatably provided via shafts 33 and 34, respectively, and the shafts 33 and 34 engage with the first and second reels 27 and 28, respectively, when the ink ribbon cassette 25 is installed. . Reference numeral 35 denotes a drive gear provided at a location approximately the same distance away from the first gear 31 and the second gear 32;
5 is adapted to be rotated in forward and reverse directions by a ribbon transport motor 36 disposed at the outer bottom of the carriage 14. Reference numeral 37 denotes a push lever whose one end is rotatably supported in the center of the drive gear 35, and the intermediate gear 3 is attached to the other end of the push lever.
8 is rotatably supported in a state of meshing with the drive gear 35. The ribbon transport motor 36 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 when the carriage 14 moves in the direction of the arrow Bh, and rotates in the opposite direction when the carriage 14 moves in the direction of the arrow Bh. It is designed to rotate. Therefore, during the first movement of the carriage 14 in the direction of the arrow, the intermediate gear 38 meshes with the first gear 31 as shown in FIG. 1, and the first gear 31 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow a1. As a result, the first reel 27 in the ink ribbon cassette 25 is rotationally driven, and when the carriage 14 moves in the direction of arrow B, the eighth reel 27 is rotated.
As shown in the figure, the intermediate gear 38 meshes with the second gear 32, and the second gear 32 is rotated in the direction of the arrow b1.
The reel 28 is driven to rotate. Next, in Figure 7,
39 is a control device, which will be described below. 40
is the main control device consisting of a microcomputer, and this is the output port PI.

P2 and an input boat P3, and the carriage 17
1 is moved in the direction of the arrow, when the thermal head 18 reaches the printing start position for that line, a high-level transfer signal 3a is sent from the first output port P1 for a time period corresponding to one line of print data. and input boat P3
When the signal applied to falls from the high level to the [ ] U level, the output port [ ) 2 is activated, and during printing when the carriage 14 is moved in the direction of arrow Bh, the 4J-maru head 18 reaches its printing start position. 2nd place somewhere
A high-level transfer signal sb having a time width corresponding to one line of print data is output from the output port P2 of. 41
is a winding control signal output circuit consisting of a medium-stable multivibrator having a time constant circuit 42, the input terminal X of which is connected to the output port P1 of the main control circuit 40, and
Output terminal Q (connected to one input terminal of OR circuit 43).

In this winding control signal output circuit 41, an input terminal
When the signal applied to the circuit falls from high level to 1] low level, it is triggered by the fall and outputs a high level winding control signal 3m with a time width determined by the time constant circuit /I2. The above OR circuit 43
The other input terminal is connected to the output port [-]1 of the main control circuit 40, and the output terminal is connected to the input port P3 of the main control @ station 40 and the normal rotation terminal W1 of the drive circuit 44 for driving the ribbon transfer motor 36. and is connected to. The ten output ports [ ] 2 of the main control unit are connected to the reverse rotation OMf f W 2 of the drive circuit 44 . The above drive circuit 4
In this case, when a high level signal is received at the forward rotation terminal W1, the ribbon transfer motor 36 is rotated in the forward direction for that time period! + 1 arrow direction), and when a high level signal is given to the reverse rotation terminal W2, the time width C
Move the ribbon transport motor 36 in the opposite direction (opposite direction of the arrow)
It is designed to rotate and drive.

Now, to describe the operation of the above configuration, for example, the length of the print data to be applied to each of the 1st row and the 5th row of convex rows, and therefore the length of the ink ribbon 29 used in each row, is set to the 10th row. As shown in the figure, 11, 12, '3, e4+
'5. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the ink ribbon force set 1-25, the first reel 27 is for winding up the used side of the ink ribbon 29, and the second reel 28 is for winding up the used side of the ink ribbon 29. The unused side of the ribbon 29 should be sent out. For example, if the first line is to be printed at this time, the head support plate 17 is rotated so that the thermal head 18 is pressed against the printing paper at the first line printing start position. Above, thermal head 18
While energizing and generating heat, the carriage 14 and therefore the thermal head 18 are moved in the direction of the arrow A, and the time width 1a corresponding to one line of print data from the output port 1]1 of the main controller 40 (see FIG. 9) is generated. (see) outputs the transfer control signal Sa. This transfer control signal Sa is applied to the forward rotation terminal Wl of the drive circuit 44 via the OR path 43 and also to the winding control signal output circuit 42. As a result, the ribbon transport motor 36 is rotationally driven in the forward direction (in this case, in the direction of arrow [ ) in FIG. 1], thereby rotating the first gear 31 in the direction of arrow a in FIG. The ink ribbon 29 is moved in the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 6, thereby controlling the ink ribbon 29 and the printing paper so that there is no relative movement during printing in the six directions of the arrows of the carriage 14. And the printing on the first line is the length! 1, the thermal head 1B is powered off, the output of the transfer control (rli number 3a) is stopped, and the winding control signal output circuit 41 changes the transfer control signal Sa from the high level to the [TIU level]. 1~triggered by the falling edge of , a high level winding control signal sm is outputted from the output terminal Q with a time width of - Therefore, the level state of the signal at the forward rotation terminal W1 of the drive circuit 471I and the input port P3 of the main controller 40 (J remains at high level).

Accordingly, this winding control signal S m causes the drive circuit 4 to
4 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the time width - 1b of the power cut control signal Sm of the thermal head 18, and as a result, the usage amount starting end side of the ink ribbon 29 has a length m corresponding to the winding control signal Sm and the number of turns. It will be done. When the output of the winding control signal Sm is stopped, the level of the signal in the manual boat P3 of the main controller 710 changes from the high level to the low level, and the output port P2 is then activated. After that, the second line is printed by moving the carriage 14 in the direction of the arrow 13. In this case, if the printing end position of the first line is the same as the printing #11 overlap position of the second line, the second line is printed at that position. The thermal head 18 is energized and heated, and at a different time, when the carriage 17I reaches the printing start position of the second line, the thermal head 18 is energized and heated. -h A high-level transfer control signal sb is output from P2 with a time width of 1b (see FIG. 9), and as a result, the carriage 14 is moved in the direction of arrow Bh.
Also, the second cliff 32 is indicated by arrow b in Figure 8! While the ink ribbon 29 is being rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.
The second line is printed, and in this case as well, the printing paper is controlled so that there is no relative movement with the ink ribbon 29 when the key 17 cartridge 14 moves in the direction of arrow B. When the second line is printed in this way after the length I2, the output port P of the main controller 40 is
The transfer control signal 3a is output from 1, and the length I3 is printed in the same manner as the printing of the first line described above, and at the same time, the transfer control signal sa
At the point in time when the output is stopped, the winding control signal Sm is output from the winding control signal output circuit 42, and the usage start end side of the ink ribbon 29 is wound up by the aforementioned winding length m in the same manner as described above. By repeating the above steps, each line is sequentially printed. In this case, the use start end side of the ink ribbon 29 is wound up by a winding length m every time printing is completed every - times.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since printing is performed in both directions of the six arrow directions of the carriage 14 and the arrow B direction, printing time can be shortened, and the attachment of the ink ribbon cassette [25] can be changed. You can also make it unnecessary. Moreover, in this case, the ink ribbon 2 is
Since the used end of the ink ribbon is wound up, there is no need to count the number of prints, unlike the case where the ink ribbon is simply printed the maximum number of times it can be used and then the used end of the ink ribbon is wound all at once. In addition, there is no support when the power of the printer is cut off, so the control circuit 39 is also simplified. Furthermore, the ribbon transport device 30 is configured to rotate one ribbon transport motor 36 in forward and reverse directions, so that the first reel 27 in the ink ribbon force sets 1 to 25 is
Since either the reel 27 or the second reel 28 is selectively driven to rotate, unlike the case where the first and second reels 27 and 28 are driven to rotate by separate motors,
It is also possible to reduce costs. In addition, since the winding control signal output circuit 41 is composed of a monostable multivibrator,
There are advantages in that a program for winding control can be made unnecessary for the main controller 40 consisting of a microcontroller, and the number of input and output capos used can be reduced.

Next, FIGS. 11 and 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a winding control signal output circuit 4 is shown.
The difference from the first embodiment is that the input terminal X of the ink ribbon 29 is connected to the output port 2 of the main control circuit 4. , as understood from FIG. 12, is performed every time printing is completed by moving the carriage 14 in the direction of arrow B. The second embodiment also provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

13 and 14 show a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a control device 45 is different from the control device 39 in d3 of the first embodiment.

That is, the control device 45 is connected to the output port 1 of the main control device 40.
] A winding control signal output circuit 46 and an OR circuit 117 are provided in order to supply the winding control signal @3m- to the drive circuit 41 even when the output of the transfer control signal sb from 2 is stopped. In this third embodiment, as understood from FIG. 14, the ink ribbon 29 is wound up every time printing of each line is completed.

Incidentally, in each of the above embodiments, a printer having a structure in which the nurse head 18 is moved integrally with the carriage 14 has been exemplified; however,
As shown in FIG. 15 as a fourth embodiment, the present invention has a structure in which a carriage 48 is fixedly provided and a legal head/I9 moves together with a pull-out roller 50 in the six directions of arrows and in the direction of arrow B. It can also be applied to printers.

However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented with various changes within the scope of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention uses an ink ribbon cassette in which an ink ribbon that can be used repeatedly can be transferred between the first and second reels. The thermal head is capable of reciprocating along a platen and generates heat during forward and backward movements to print one line on printing paper in the column direction and in the backward direction via the ink ribbon, and a ribbon. A ribbon transport device having a transport motor and selectively driving the first and second reels of the ink ribbon force set to rotate based on the forward and reverse rotations of the ribbon transport motor; and the ribbon transport device. A transfer control signal is output to the ribbon transfer motor when printing with the 2-maru head, and a winding control signal is output every time an arbitrary width character is completed, and based on the transfer control signal, the ribbon transfer device moves the ink ribbon in the column direction. and a control device that controls the printing paper so that there is no relative movement in the reverse direction, respectively; and a control device that controls the transfer device based on a winding control signal so as to wind the starting end of the ribbon a little. This makes it possible to print in both directions, thus eliminating the need for reversing the ink ribbon cassette and changing its attachment, and shortening the printing time. Moreover, since the used side of the ink ribbon can be wound up sequentially, there is no need to sequentially count the same number of used ink ribbons, and no support occurs even if the printer power is turned off. , the control circuit structure can be easily simplified and the cost can be reduced, and various other excellent effects can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 10 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main part, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the main part, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively A perspective view and a side view of the carriage part, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the main part of the printer, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the ink ribbon cassette, FIG. 7 is an electrical configuration diagram, and FIG.
The figure is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 for explaining the operation, FIG. 9 is a waveform diagram of each part, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the ink ribbon winding mode. 11 and 12 are views corresponding to FIG. 7 and 10, respectively, showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 13 and 14, respectively, showing a third embodiment of the present invention. A diagram corresponding to FIG. 7, a diagram corresponding to FIG. 10, and FIG. 15 show a thermal spatula according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 12 is a platen, 14 is a carriage, 17 is a head support plate, 18 is a thermal head, 25 is an ink ribbon cassette, 27 is a first reel, 28 is a second reel, 29 is an ink ribbon, and 30 is a ribbon. , transfer device, 31
is the first gear, 32 is the second gear, 35 is the drive gear, 3
6 is a ribbon transfer motor, 38 is an intermediate gear, 39 is a control device, 40 is a main control device, 41 is a winding control signal output circuit, 45 is a control device, 46 is a winding control signal output circuit, 4
8 is a carriage, and 49 is a thermal head. Applicant: Toshiba Co., Ltd. 1 Toshiba Toshiba A-Dio-Video A1 Engineering Co., Ltd. 1... Agent: Ben Sotoshi Hai Sato: . 1,...j,. b Figure 1 b Figure 2 U Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ink ribbon cassette is used in which an ink ribbon that can be used repeatedly can be transferred between the first and second reels, and the ink ribbon can be moved back and forth along the platen. It has a thermal head that generates heat during movement and backward movement and prints one line in the forward and backward directions on the printing paper via the ink ribbon, and a ribbon transfer motor, and the ribbon transfer motor rotates in the forward and reverse directions. a ribbon transport device that selectively rotates the first and second reels of the ink ribbon cassette based on the rotation; and a ribbon transport device that outputs a transport control signal to the ribbon transport motor of the ribbon transport device when printing with the thermal head, and optionally A winding control signal is output every time printing is completed, and the ribbon transport device is controlled based on the transport control signal so that the ink ribbon does not move relative to the printing paper in the forward direction and the backward direction, respectively, and winding control is performed. 1. A thermal transfer printer comprising: a control device for controlling the transfer device to wind up a certain amount of the starting end of the ink ribbon based on a signal.